Lucas asked,
"What do we do now?"
Raven suggested,
"Why don't we hire someone to take care of the beasts?"
I added,
"And adventurers to keep any disturbances away."
Raven nodded in agreement.
"That's important. We've brought them in, but if someone tries something funny, there needs to be someone to stop it."
Emma suggested,
"Another A-Rank party would be good."
Brock laughed sarcastically.
"Emma, you've sure gotten used to spending money. Better find yourself a noble like Emily or you'll soon go broke."
Emilia shook her head.
"So, you want her to marry someone like Henry?"
Emma glared at both of them angrily—
and they shut up immediately.
I said,
"But she's right. I'd rather spend money than deal with the aftermath of being stingy."
So we went back to the inn's receptionist.
The receptionist asked,
"Sir, is there anything I can do for you?"
I replied,
"You don't take care of beasts, but can you find someone who does?"
She shook her head.
"Sorry, sir. Anyone who isn't desperate for money won't take on such a task. And someone who is desperate enough probably wouldn't be trustworthy. If I recommend them and something happens, the inn will share partial responsibility."
I nodded and left with the others.
Emma suddenly said,
"Wouldn't there be a Beast Master in the Adventurers' Guild? Let's just hire one."
Brock said excitedly,
"Why didn't I think of that before?"
Emilia said dryly,
"Well, you don't think much."
And so, we left for the Adventurers' Guild.
Soon, we arrived there.
The guild in this city was smaller than most, but still quite large.
I entered with the Claw members behind me.
Now that I think about it, they've completely given up on actually protecting me—they're just traveling with me.
Thinking that, I shook my head.
Soon, we reached the client desk.
The receptionist asked,
"Sir, what can we do for you?"
I responded,
"I want to hire two Beast Masters to take care of six Sky Dogs."
The receptionist thought for a moment, then called over two adventurers and said,
"These two are B-Rank adventurers. Since it's only beast care, they can handle it."
Raven leaned toward me and said quietly,
"What if something happens?"
I thought about it and asked the receptionist,
"Is there no Beast Master with a higher rank?"
The receptionist apologized,
"Sorry, sir. These are the best the city currently has."
I then said,
"Then I also want to hire an A-Rank party to protect the beasts."
The receptionist nodded and soon brought over three more people.
And just like that, we hired a total of five adventurers—two to take care of the beasts and three to protect them.
Then another thought crossed my mind.
"Who here is the most knowledgeable about Frostmaw Mountain?"
The receptionist asked curiously,
"Why?"
I replied,
"I want someone as a guide. We already have enough people for protection, so rank isn't an issue."
The receptionist nodded.
"Low-ranked adventurers won't go deep into the mountain anyway, sir. If you want someone truly knowledgeable, that would be Fenris. He's an S-Rank adventurer. But he's not here right now. I can inform him—how about I set a meeting for 8 a.m. tomorrow?"
I nodded and brought the five hired adventurers with me to the inn.
When we reached, I explained to them,
"This area was provided by the inn when we asked. We also live in the inn, so if anything happens, report it immediately. During the day, we'll be in the mountain, so you can rest. But at night, you need to take care of the Sky Dogs."
Everyone nodded.
Brock then said to me,
"Now that the matter of the Sky Dogs is settled, how about we buy clothes for the cold?"
I nodded, and so we all went to a store.
We started looking around and bought the warmest coats we could find. Then all the men sat down on the benches in the shop while Emma and Emilia continued browsing.
We waited… and waited. After an hour, Brock grumbled,
"It's just a damn coat! Buy it and be done with it."
Lucas replied,
"Women take time when shopping."
Raven looked completely unsurprised—
Ah! That's why whenever Emma and Emilia went to get supplies or anything, he always sent only those two.
Wow.
After another hour, they finally bought five coats each.
Then we quickly returned to the inn and went to bed.
---
The next day came, and we again went to the Adventurers' Guild.
We reached exactly at 8 a.m.
The receptionist, seeing us, said,
"He's already here. Please, follow me."
We followed her into a private room. Inside, we saw a man in his fifties.
The receptionist left, leaving us alone to talk.
The man introduced himself,
"Nice to meet you. I'm Fenris, an S-Rank adventurer."
I introduced myself and the Claw members,
"I'm Adrian Lewin, and these are Raven, Lucas, Brock, Emma, and Emilia. They're my escorts."
He nodded and asked,
"I heard you wanted me as a guide?"
I nodded.
"Yes, I'm looking for something."
He asked,
"What exactly?"
I smiled and answered,
"It's difficult to say unless you accept."
He thought for a moment and then asked,
"How long will it take?"
I replied,
"If you find it in an hour, then we're done in an hour. If it takes a month… well, you understand."
He sighed.
"Fifty gold coins."
I didn't say anything—just handed him fifty gold coins directly.
You might wonder why I paid Claw a hundred gold coins for five months, and him fifty for who knows how long.
Well, he's S-Rank.
And who knows how long this might actually last.
He nodded and asked,
"So what are you looking for?"
I replied,
"A huge rock that has a sharp cut, like it was sliced by a sword."
He shook his head.
"It doesn't look like it was cut by a sword—it was cut by one. The army commander did that."
I sighed.
That meant everyone probably knew where it was. Maybe I didn't need to hire an S-Rank after all.
As if reading my thoughts, he said,
"Not everyone knows its location. It's almost at the peak. Even A-Ranks don't go there."
I said,
"Well, then let's leave now."
He raised an eyebrow.
"What's the hurry?"
I replied,
"We came here expecting low temperatures, but we can't handle this anymore."
He shrugged.
"Well, let's go then."
We first had a meal and then left immediately.
Raven said,
"We can climb—or leave someone here and let Fenris use their Sky Dog."
Emma said shyly,
"I have a suggestion."
I looked at her questioningly.
She asked timidly,
"Will you be safe from the cold, sir? With your power?"
Well… it's not like I'd be safe exactly. More like, any cell destroyed would just be replaced by the Devourer's Gift.
I didn't feel right about it, but I nodded anyway.
---
And that's how I ended up tied to a rope, hanging in midair.
Sigh…
Before this—
Emma had said,
"Sir, I suggest you let Fenris ride Flash while you're tied by a rope and hang below."
Everyone, including me, was shocked to the core.
What the hell was she suggesting?!
Even Emilia felt that was crossing a line.
"Emma, even if that works… that's inhuman. And he's our client."
Emma said timidly,
"Well, it's just that sir's first priority has always been results rather than means."
I was speechless.
But then, thinking of the time I'd save, I agreed.
And so—here we are.
It's not like the Sky Dogs couldn't lift multiple people; they just weren't designed for it. Their structure didn't allow space for more than one rider.
And only I could handle being carried like this. Anyone else would suffer badly.
After eight long hours, we finally reached the place.
I said to Fenris,
"Thanks. From here, we'll manage."
Fenris smiled and said,
"I have a duty, sir. I can't leave until you get what you came for."
I shook my head.
"I hired you only up to this point. Your duty ends here. No need to burden yourself."
Fenris's smile faded, and his expression turned grim.
"I tried to be polite, but you brat… even an idiot could guess there must be a ruin here. A rich kid like you wouldn't come all this way otherwise. Tell me its location, and I'll let you go."
The Claw members looked shocked, then shook their heads.
I smirked.
"Well, make me."
He took a deep breath to control his anger and rushed at me—clearly to injure, not to kill.
Meanwhile, I said calmly,
"Apocalypse."
He was thrown back, injured. His eyes trembled as he asked,
"What… what did you do?"
I replied,
"Just the same thing I did to the army commander."
He slowly stood up, shouting,
"Impossible!"
He knew about the incident where someone had thrown the commander hundreds of meters back—the very event that allowed us to enter the city with the Sky Dogs.
Realization dawned on his face as he glanced at the beasts, and his expression paled.
He said slowly, voice trembling,
"Please… forgive me. I was blinded. Please… please…"
He started crying and fell to his knees.
"Hey! I haven't even done anything yet. You're making me look like the villain here."
Well, whatever.
"Apocalypse."